In the second week of U.S. Chess League action,Miami Sharks, Boston Blitz and the Queens Pioneers vaulted to 2-0 with respective wins against the New York Knights, the Carolina Cobras and the New Jersey Knockouts. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Inventors defeated Baltimore and the Dallas Destiny won against expansion team Arizona Scorpions. Check out Greg Shahade's video recaps and the official website for many daily links to blogs, Game of the Week results and news on the league.

This week, Chess Life Online is also offering up to $30 worth of USCL store merchandise for the first person to answer all the puzzles correctly plus a special trivia question. If there are no perfect answers as of Monday, September 8 , Noon EST, the entry with the most correct answers up to that point will win the prize (Each puzzle worth 1 points, Triva question is worth 4 points). Login as a member and post your answers as a comment to this article. Include your email in your answer or email [email protected] if you'd prefer to keep your email private. Sorry, previous winners, USCL players and managers are not eligible.
USCL Week 2 Highlight Quiz (2 points each)

1.

White to Move

Victor Shen (NJ Knockouts) just played Nd7, a typical Sicilian move. How did Benjamin Katz (Queens' Pioneers) cause him to resign just a few moves later?

2.

White to Move

Board one GM Julio Becerra led the Miami Sharks to a crushing 3.5-0.5 win against the New York Knights. What thematic positional move did he play against GM Pascal Charbonneau in the above position?

3.

White to Move

In this theoretical variation of the Pirc Defense, Eli Vovsha of the Queens' Pioneers used a strong plan against Mackenzie Molner of the New Jersey Knockouts. What should he play?

4.

Black to Move

10 moves later in Vovsha-Molner, White just played Bxe6 and Black responded fxe6 but lost quickly after 20.Bg5+ Bf6 21.Bxf6 Nxf6 22.Nf5. What would White do if Black played Kxe6 in the above position?

5.

Black to Move

What is Black's best move in this wild tactical position from Daniel Rensch (Arizona Scorpions)-John Bartholomew (Dallas Destiny)?

6.

Black to Move

In Evan Ju (NJ Knockouts)-Alex Lenderman (Queens' Pioneers), Evan (Ed. correction 9/6/08) just played Re6, but this is a mistake. Why?